The boy’s father faces a neglect charge after three Florida caregivers were accused in the 3-month-old’s dehydration and malnutrition death.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The arrest of a 3-month-old boy’s father nearly a year after the child’s death has expanded a St. Lucie County investigation that now reaches from a Fort Pierce mobile home to Virginia and has produced criminal charges against four adults connected to the infant.
Jason Gunter, 45, was arrested Aug. 4 at his residence in Mechanicsville, Virginia, by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives had obtained a warrant charging him with felony child neglect resulting in great harm. Authorities said at the time that Gunter would be returned to St. Lucie County to face the charge. His arrest came less than two weeks after authorities charged the child’s mother, grandfather and the grandfather’s girlfriend with more serious counts tied directly to the death.
The separate charges illustrate how investigators have divided alleged responsibility among the adults in the case. Nicole Maxwell, 27, Robert Maxwell, 61, and Vikki Koon, 38, each face aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse. Jason Gunter faces the neglect count announced in August. Prosecutors have not established any of those accusations at trial, and publicly available reports do not show a final disposition for any defendant. The sheriff’s office has continued to describe the investigation as active while the cases move through the courts.
The charges arise from the Aug. 20, 2025, death of Robert Gunter. His grandfather and Koon took him to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Medical personnel reported circumstances consistent with possible neglect, prompting deputies, detectives and crime scene investigators to respond. A medical examiner later determined that the infant died from dehydration and malnutrition and classified the manner of death as homicide. That medical finding became the foundation of an investigation that continued for almost a year before the first arrests were announced.
Investigators then worked backward through the child’s final weeks. Medical records showed that Robert had weighed more than 11 pounds at a July 24 doctor’s visit, according to accounts of the arrest affidavit. By the time of his death, authorities said, his weight had fallen to about 9 pounds. Detectives described a visibly emaciated child and noted how clearly his ribs could be seen. The weight loss was significant not only as medical evidence but also because investigators allege the change unfolded while multiple adults had contact with the infant and knew his condition was worsening.
Daily care, investigators said, had largely shifted away from the child’s parents. Robert was staying in the Fort Pierce home of his grandfather, Robert Maxwell, and Koon. Nicole Maxwell lived elsewhere with her boyfriend and visited. Jason Gunter was living in Virginia. That arrangement required detectives to reconstruct who was feeding the baby, who saw him during particular periods, what information was being passed among family members and which adults had opportunities to seek medical attention. The criminal cases that followed reflect investigators’ conclusions about those different roles, but those conclusions remain allegations unless proved in court.
Koon’s account of feeding the infant became an important part of the case against the Florida caregivers. Investigators said she reported giving the baby food only twice a day. When infant formula was not available, she said she used a diluted mixture involving regular milk and baby cereal, according to court documents cited by news organizations. Investigators linked the child’s lack of sufficient food and fluid to the medical examiner’s findings. Authorities have not alleged that the baby was capable of obtaining nutrition independently; at 3 months old, his survival depended entirely on adults recognizing and meeting his basic needs.
The condition of the residence provided another line of evidence. Detectives said the mobile home had boarded windows, exposed wiring and widespread cockroach activity. Both live and dead insects were documented, including in areas associated with the children living there. The sheriff’s office described the environment as hazardous. Investigators also said other children lived at the home. Local reporting based on detectives’ statements said the Department of Children and Families had previous involvement with the family and that Nicole Maxwell’s other children were later in foster care. The publicly released material does not provide a complete chronology of the agency’s prior involvement.
While the physical evidence showed the state of the child and home, electronic messages gave investigators a record of concerns being expressed before the death. Robert Maxwell communicated with the baby’s parents about the demands of caring for the infant and his belief that something was wrong. In one reported exchange, he complained that others were not taking responsibility for the baby. Other messages referenced a shortage of food for the infant and his unusual amount of sleeping. Those communications are significant to the prosecution’s theory because they indicate that concerns about Robert were circulating within the family before the medical emergency on Aug. 20.
The mother’s contact with the child also became part of investigators’ case. Detectives allege Nicole Maxwell saw her son the day before he died and noticed that he looked thin, sick and less alert. She later told investigators she had wanted to seek medical attention but left the residence because her boyfriend wanted her to return home, according to published accounts of the affidavit. Her father, investigators said, had encouraged her to stay. Authorities contend that no one took the infant for medical treatment at that point despite his appearance and the concerns that had already been discussed.
The first three arrests were announced July 24, 2026. Bond for Nicole Maxwell, Robert Maxwell and Koon was set at $1.5 million each. The arrests followed months of review that included the autopsy, medical history, interviews, photographs or observations of the residence and family communications. Detective Jennifer Diaz publicly described the investigation as extraordinarily difficult and said the written record did not fully capture what law enforcement saw. Investigators also indicated after those arrests that their work might not be finished, an assessment borne out by Jason Gunter’s arrest days later.
His inclusion shifted the public understanding of the case. Early reports focused on the adults who were in Florida and on the mobile home where the infant stayed. The Aug. 4 arrest made clear that detectives were also examining responsibility beyond the people physically present at the residence. Officials have released fewer details about the specific conduct underlying the father’s neglect charge. The available reports establish that he lived in Virginia, received communications concerning the child and was later arrested on the Florida warrant, but they do not provide a complete public account of the prosecution’s evidence against him.
The distinction matters because the four defendants are not charged identically and should not be treated as though the allegations against each are interchangeable. Three face aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges tied to investigators’ claims about the child’s care and death. The father was charged with child neglect resulting in great harm. The existence of an arrest warrant reflects a finding that authorities had sufficient grounds to seek his arrest, not a determination of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to contest the state’s evidence and present a defense.
The latest publicly announced development came in Virginia, not Florida. U.S. marshals arrested Jason Gunter in Mechanicsville on Aug. 4 after St. Lucie County detectives obtained a child-neglect warrant. Authorities said he was awaiting extradition when they announced the arrest, making his return to Florida the next identified step in his case. The sheriff’s office has released substantially less information about the allegations against him than it has about the three defendants arrested in July.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 29, 2026.